When he opened his eyes again, Naruto found himself hundreds of meters in the air.
Reacting instantly, he used Wind Release to slow his descent, gliding smoothly down like a falling leaf. As he landed, his gaze swept toward the distance—toward a city shrouded in yellow sand… and Loulan, still standing in all its unburied glory.
Judging from how prosperous it looked, the time travel had worked perfectly.
He had arrived in Loulan's past.
Dusting off his robe, Naruto casually put on his iconic black fox mask and began heading toward the city, recalling everything he knew about the Lost Tower incident.
In the original story, it was a Sunagakure ninja who traveled back in time and took on the identity of An Lushan, the minister of Loulan.
But this time?
The ones who crossed through time were Danzō, Nagato, and himself.
Danzō's strength wasn't worth mentioning right now—but Nagato's power was enough to completely mess with time and space. If things went wrong, the three of them could cause a massive temporal disaster.
"…Great. No pressure at all," Naruto muttered dryly.
Then, suddenly remembering something crucial, he quickly checked the sealed space inside his body.
It was still there.
There was even a portion of chakra from the Nine-Tails and the Three-Tails…
—but the Nine-Tails itself was gone.
As if it had never been sealed inside him at all.
Naruto frowned.
"Is it because the same timeline can't have two Nine-Tails at once…?"
Or maybe the Dragon Veins simply couldn't handle something as absurd as Kurama being dragged across time.
Either way, the conclusion was the same—
For now, he couldn't rely on the Nine-Tails.
Without that power, his strength dropped to roughly Jiraiya's level.
And in this era… that wasn't nearly as comforting as it sounded.
"If I run into Nagato now… yeah, that's not going to end well."
Clicking his tongue, Naruto pushed the thought aside and slipped into Loulan.
Using the Transformation Jutsu, he disguised himself as an ordinary passerby and began gathering intel.
With his strength, he could crush most opponents head-on—but against top-tier fighters, staying low-key was the smarter move.
Timing his movements with a guard shift, Naruto cast a genjutsu and quietly took control of one of the guards.
From him, Naruto learned—
This was the period of the Third Great Ninja War.
Loulan's current prosperity relied entirely on a minister named An Lushan.
Years ago, An Lushan had persuaded the Queen to use the Dragon Veins. Since then, he had built a puppet army, repelled invasions, and turned Loulan into a modern desert city.
Naruto's eyes darkened slightly.
"So… is this Danzō playing dress-up as An Lushan… or is the original An Lushan still around?"
Either way—
Things just got more interesting.
After wiping the guard's memory clean, Naruto stepped onto a balcony and looked down at the city below.
Unlike the sealed Dragon Veins in his time, Loulan here was overflowing with that power. The entire city ran on it.
No wonder it would weaken so much in the future.
Closing his eyes briefly, Naruto focused.
Soon, he pinpointed the location of the Dragon Vein core—the tower at the center of the city.
Just as he was deciding whether to investigate the palace or the tower first, a few suspicious figures caught his attention.
Even though they were disguised, their movements gave them away immediately.
Konoha ninja.
One of them—a blond-haired man—suddenly glanced in Naruto's direction, as if sensing something… but saw nothing.
Wearing a mask, Akimichi Dōza spoke:
"Minato, did you notice anything? Found the one targeting the Queen?"
Namikaze Minato shook his head.
"I sensed a familiar chakra… but whoever it was, their perception is better than mine. They left before I could pinpoint them."
Dōza blinked.
"Better than your perception? Then it's definitely not some random ninja… but aside from the Kazekage, I don't see why any Kage would care about Loulan."
Minato smiled faintly.
"It's not a Kage. The chakra felt… gentle. Familiar, even. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Akimichi Dōza shrugged.
"Whatever. Let's finish the mission—find whoever's targeting the Queen."
"Agreed."
Nearby, Aburame Shibi remained silent, hands in his pockets, clearly uninterested in the conversation.
...
A few dozen minutes later—
Naruto and Minato's team finally crossed paths.
While investigating the palace, Naruto ran into Dragon Vein puppets.
These weren't your average puppets—they were far stronger than Sunagakure's, easily approaching jōnin level.
Forced to act, Naruto destroyed them.
That, unfortunately, drew attention.
In a narrow alley—
The two sides met.
Naruto stood calmly, wearing his black fox mask.
Across from him stood a young Namikaze Minato… along with Akimichi Dōza and Aburame Shibi.
Both Dōza and Shibi immediately tensed.
The chakra radiating from Naruto was immense—on par with the legendary Sannin.
What the hell was someone like this doing in Loulan?
After a brief silence, Minato spoke:
"Why are you in Loulan? And why did you provoke the city's defenses? We'll need an explanation."
Naruto tilted his head slightly.
"This is Loulan, in the Land of Wind—not Konoha territory."
His tone was calm, but sharp.
"And before questioning others… shouldn't you introduce yourselves first, Yellow Flash?"
Dōza's expression shifted instantly.
Minato, however, simply smiled.
"We're Konoha ninja, invited by Queen Loulan to protect her. Your actions could pose a threat to her safety."
Naruto shrugged.
"My target isn't your Queen."
He paused.
"I'm here to kill someone—An Lushan. The so-called minister of Loulan."
Minato's eyes narrowed.
"He's manipulating the Queen from the shadows."
That made the trio fall silent.
After a moment, Minato spoke again:
"Then our missions overlap. How about we cooperate?"
Naruto thought for a second… then nodded.
"Fine."
...
Inside the Loulan Palace—
The newly crowned Queen Sāra was practicing royal etiquette under An Lushan's guidance.
Her mother had died just a month ago, forcing her to take the throne at a young age.
Though she held the title of queen, she still relied heavily on An Lushan.
He had been her mother's most trusted minister.
Under his leadership, Loulan had become the brightest jewel in the desert.
To Sāra, he was more than a minister—he was like a father.
Naturally, she entrusted him with everything.
Still…
Lately, something felt off.
An Lushan had grown colder.
He constantly urged her to use the Dragon Veins, as if chasing some hidden goal.
But she pushed those doubts aside.
As long as he was in charge… Loulan would continue to prosper.
Right?
...
Behind a hidden wall—
In a secret chamber—
The powerful "An Lushan" of Loulan was kneeling before an old man wrapped in bandages.
Shimura Danzō.
The real mastermind.
The moment he arrived in this era, Danzō had used Kotoamatsukami to seize control of An Lushan.
The man had power—but he was still just a ninja.
Against Shisui's Mangekyō technique?
He never stood a chance.
Danzō's voice was low and cold.
"An Lushan… what happened earlier? Why did the Dragon Veins react?"
An Lushan lifted his head, eyes frantic.
"A strange ninja broke into the Lost Tower… but the puppet guards drove him away."
"…A strange ninja?"
Danzō narrowed his eye, deep in thought.
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